Small universes _{by Isabella Smith}

Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote, “Know first who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.”

Curated by Brooke Pou, Adorn yourself accordingly brings together three emerging artists – Arawhetu Berdinner, Bailey Gardner, and Te Māreikura Whakataka-Brightwell – whose works are grounded in an inward sense of self: whakapapa, connection to Tangaroa (among other atua), and their interests.

Pearls, shells, metal, and synthetic materials transform into ornate adornments through careful craft, guided by ancestral making practices and learnt processes from across the globe. They are delicate yet sturdy, quiet yet charged. Some shine with a natural lustre while others are placed in darker corners of the gallery. Hung on the walls, the expanses of negative space only seem to make each stitch, puncture, bind, and cluster more acutely felt. Each adornment houses a small universe.

“I love the contrast between size in Arawhetu's enormous kuku (green-lipped mussel shells) in Kōuma Mahara and Bailey's small pōrohe (blue mussel shells) in Untitled #3,” Brooke says. “It's really cool to see the different ways they work with these gifts from Tangaroa: Arawhetu by binding them together with muka [harakeke fibres] and Bailey by piercing them with steel.”

Arawhetu has an enduring interest in the artforms of her ancestors. “Her practice considers material culture as carriers of whakapapa, and the creator as a conduit for that exchange in real-time.” Researching early Māori and Moana adornments, she works with water and hōanga (sandstone or grindstone) to create the notches of the ngau pae pattern that encodes whakapapa.

Bailey works with metal, handwoven chains, and found shells collected from various beaches to lessen her impact on te taiao. Her designs are made to feel like armour, or a form of protection, “for the wearer who has little choice but to adapt to our rapidly changing climate amidst rising tides”.

Te Māreikura’s work acts as a mode of resistance. Working with what he calls “big fat ugly pearls”, he questions dominant narratives of beauty. His practice incorporates medieval European influences with Tahitian and Māori adornments such as the Tahitian pārae, a headdress worn by the chief mourner in the Heva Tūpāpau funeral ceremony. Sacrum Maris/The Sacred of the Sea [pictured] is his take on a Sacred Heart, made with a megalodon shark tooth and Tahitian pearls – the same pearls that the French Polynesian Government in Tahiti is trying to ban.

“The artworks in this exhibition really complement each other,” Brooke says. “Each work gets its own space to breathe, while staying in conversation with the other.”

“Working with natural and synthetic materials allows an exploration of the tension between the two while contributing to exciting experiments in contemporary adornment.”

Personal adornment is one of humanity’s oldest forms expression. Outdating any written language, we find perforated shells, feathers, and beads of clay, stone, teeth, and bone from hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Adorn yourself accordingly adorns the walls of Enjoy Contemporary Art Space until the 24^th of October.